Today I’m trying for simple sophistication with the aid of the Sallie Jumpsuit from Closet Case Patterns (who else??).

I had never even worn a jumpsuit before and now I’ve made two within a few months (the other is here). And, I’m currently sewing yet another.

Jumpsuit bug.

Most definitely caught.

Me Made May Inspiration

I blame Me Made May for this project.

One of the thing I love about Me Made May is actually seeing what garments my fellow sewists reach for on a day-to-day basis. Because it’s not that hard to make a garment look nice for a few blog photos when it’s brand new. But seeing what people keep pulling out of their wardrobe, sometimes years later, that’s where I want to be directing my sewing attention.

After seeing multiple versions that made me swoon all over my instagram feed throughout May, I knew there was a Sallie jumpsuit hole in my wardrobe, waiting to be filled!

Fabric time …

From stalking versions online, I knew that the right fabric was going to be important for this one. Jersey is something that I find harder to source online than woven fabrics. I find that so much depends on the quality and weight of the jersey, which can be difficult to gauge online.

I’ve also had plenty of great quality jerseys in my time that just wouldn’t work well for this project – maybe they’re just slightly too heavy or they cling to the body.

So, since I wasn’t too sure, I went with a trusted store and ordered something from The Fabric Store. I ordered this rayon matte jersey from them, which doesn’t seem to be available anymore. Luckily, it really fit the bill. It is very drapey without clinging to the body, the perfect combination for the Sallie Jumpsuit.

The pockets do show through the fabric, but it’s a sacrifice I will make for pockets. Is there such a thing as a drapey, fluid, slightly slinky jersey which won’t show pockets?

Or is that a unicorn I’m chasing?

My Sallie Jumpsuit

So, my Sallie jumpsuit is a size 10 bust graded to a 12 from the waist down.

I wanted my version of the Sallie jumpsuit to be more wide legged than the original design. So I widened the pants by cutting up to the lengthen/shorten line in three places on each leg piece and slashing and spreading. In total, at the hem of each pant leg, I’d say it is about 2.5 inches wider than as designed.

I’d stupidly run out of tracing paper so I didn’t actually trace my piece out, just literally cut and spread and then cut around that directly on the fabric. In other words, this precise shape is never to be repeated!

Not so easey-peasey

Although the garments don’t necessarily make it onto my blog in the same order that I sew them, I sewed this Sallie jumpsuit directly after the rather intense (but fun) experience of sewing the Sophie Swimsuit.

So, my mindset at the beginning was a little: “jersey knit project, this is going to be so easy and fast”.

And I have to say, I actually found it more difficult than I expected. Which is not to say that it’s actually objectively difficult. Just that I’d kind of been hoping that this would be a “I can sew this with my eyes closed” kind of project.

And it turned out, I had to open them after all…

First, a tiny word of warning, in case anyone else out there has a tendency to not pay enough attention.

When cutting out my bodice pieces (pieces A and B), I simply assumed that one piece was the front bodice and one was the back bodice. With these pieces then being doubled as the lining.

In actual fact, the back and front pieces of this pattern are the same! I know, who would have thought! So the two different pieces are that one is the shell bodice and the other piece is the lining bodice. I sewed a shell bodice piece to a lining bodice piece as though they were a front and a back. Since the overall differences in the pieces were minimal, I didn’t worry about this too much. But, word for the wise, slow down and pay attention…

What the sleeve, shoulder, neck?????

I have to confess that there were a few steps here that I found a bit difficult.

When stitching clear elastic to the neckline to stabilise it, I could have done with a little more advice as to techniques to have it looking nice and clean at the tip of the V. It wasn’t obvious to me whether I was supposed to be using two pieces of elastic. Do I overlap them at the point of the V? Or do I cut so that they are perfectly butted up against each other? Or should I just be using one big piece of elastic that I could kind of fold and change directions at the V?

I went with two pieces of elastic which slightly overlap at the V but the end result is not totally clean.

The other thing I found really confusing was how to sew the bodice and the lining so as to achieve a totally clean finish. My word, I was at a loss. I almost sewed the wrong things together soooo many times. I think that the size of the shoulder seam and the armhole are quite similar and I nearly sewed my armholes closed at least 5 times. This is a step that a photo sewalong (with lining shown in a different colour) might be really useful.

But when you do get it right, it’s kind of sewing magic to have such a lovely clean finish!

Looong legs

But don’t get me wrong. Even though my brain felt like it was doing somersaults ad I felt like a total loser for being confused by a simple knit project, I really adore this Sallie Jumpsuit.

I feel like I have the longest legs in the world!!!

Really, there is so much to love here. The Sallie jumpsuit is pyjama-like comfortable. The visual interest of the back v-neck, with the ties, is just out of this world. I love the way that even though there is an elastic waist, the urge to make it too blousey is avoided and the effect around the waist is rather slim. I love that it’s a jumpsuit which requires no closures at all – zips and buttons be damned!

I feel fantastic when I wear this. I want an entire fleet of them…

Can that be a new collective noun?

A fleet of jumpsuits…

Yes please!

Hiding in plain view?

I have a question that’s been bugging me on which I would love your opinions.

Some of the pics here feature my Sallie jumpsuit with a belt, some without.

So, I’m rather ‘thick-waisted’. It is the usual course of events for me that my waist measurements are 2-3 sizes above my bust and hip measurements. I think that for a long time, I have tried to create the illusion of a waist by drawing attention to it – ‘here it is everyone, I have one, I promise!’. Contrast colours. Belts. Et cetera.

Now I’m starting to wonder whether this is actually just highlighting the ‘problem area’ and I would be better off simply lettting it lie.

In these pics I really like both the belted and unbelted version but would love to hear your thoughts as to the broader issue. Can we ‘hide’ our least favourite body quirks in the wide open by subversively drawing attention to them? Or is it better to let things slide under the radar?

Oh and, finally, a little P.S! If you like to get your blog hits through Bloglovin’, feel free to follow me over there: you can find me here. And you can find me on Instagram here.